Ok, so I’ve had nearly a week to listen to, absorb and reflect upon The Union. I feel like I should have some earth-shattering revelation to share with you, some Taupin-esque tidbit (if only!) that ties it all together, but all I can muster up is this: The Union amazes me…it (truly) amazes me.

I have been eagerly and unabashedly anticipating the release of The Union for months now (October 19th! October 19th!)…IT. DOES. NOT. DISAPPOINT. In fact, it exceeds my expectations – and my hopes. The tag line (“Welcome back to real music”) is not only genius, but apropos.

I was thrilled to read that Rolling Stone gave it 5 stars…and that overall the album is receiving widespread critical acclaim. FINALLY!

Suffice it to say there’s not a track I don’t like. My favorites (so far) are Going to Shiloh (with a haunting piano line that I just can’t get off my mind), Hey Ahab (a classic EJ rocker), Monkey Suit (fun!) and In the Hands of Angels (it is just beautiful, and now that I know why Leon wrote it, I can’t listen to it without getting all misty eyed).

Rather than me going on and on about how miraculous I think this album is, I think YOU should give it a spin (or two…) and decide for yourself. Besides, I’m sure the songs on this album will grace my blog soon…I just want some time for them to sink in and become part of the Elton tapestry that is so much a part of me.

So…like Elton wanting to show his gratitude and give something back to Leon, you, too, can show your gratitude and give something back to Elton…buy the CD! Download it from iTunes! Make it #1! If you’ve ever appreciated an Elton John song (and you don’t have to be a nutcase like me)…whether it’s the likes of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road or Crocodile Rock…or perhaps something less mainstream like Original Sin or Planes…or any of a bazillion other tunes that you could choose from…he deserves it. Do it for EJ…Do it for the Governor!

Have we talked about it yet?

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The Playlist

All Quiet on the Western Front
All That I’m Allowed (I’m Thankful)
American Triangle
Amoreena
Answer in the Sky
A Word in Spanish
Be Prepared
Better Off Dead
Between Seventeen and Twenty
Birds
Blessed
Blue Avenue
Blues for Baby and Me
Border Song
Breaking Hearts (Ain’t What It Used to Be)
Burn Down the Mission
Burning Buildings
Can You Feel the Love Tonight
Candle in the Wind
Cage the Songbird
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Carla/Etude/Fanfare
Cold as Christmas (In the Middle of the Year)
Come Down In Time
Chloe
Club at the End of the Street
Curtains
Ego
Elton’s Song
Emily
Empty Sky
Foreign Fields
Friends
Funeral for a Friend
Good Morning to the Night
Grey Seal
Gulliver
Hakuna Matata
Harmony
Hay Chewed
Healing Hands
Heavy Traffic
Hercules
High Flying Bird
Home Again
I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)
I Just Can’t Wait to be King
I Must Have Lost it on the Wind
Idol
I’m Still Standing
Japanese Hands
Latitude
Levon
Love Builds a Garden
Little Jeannie
Made in England
Mandalay Again
Mansfield
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
My Quicksand
Old ’67
Original Sin
Out of the Blue
Paris
Pinky
Planes
Razor Face
Reverie
Roy Rogers
Sad
Sartorial Eloquence
Sixty Years On
Skyline Pigeon
Song for Guy
Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word
Step into Christmas
The Bitch is Back
The Captain and the Kid
The Circle of Life
The Greatest Discovery
The Last Song
Theme from a Non-Existent TV Series
This Song Has No Title
Tiny Dancer
Tonight
Too Low For Zero
We All Fall in Love Sometimes
Weight of the World
Where To Now St. Peter?
Whispers
Writing
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